Operation device and method for controlling the same

ABSTRACT

An operating device includes a movable part capable of moving between a first position and a second position, with the movable part being capable of operation by the finger of the user gripping the operating device. The operating device includes a regulating part that regulates a range in which the movable part can move, and a control part that determines the amount of regulation in which the movable part can move and provides the regulating part with an instruction to regulate the range in which the movable part can move according to the amount of regulation which has been determined.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an operating device and a method forcontrolling the operating device.

BACKGROUND ART

The home game machine is provided with an operating device which detectsuser's action such as button depression and device shaking and sends theinformation representing the thus detected user's action to the mainbody of the game machine. Some of the operating devices are so designedas to give the user the sense of touch and force by means of anactuator.

SUMMARY Technical Problem

The existing operating device mentioned above which expresses the senseof touch and force has the disadvantage of being unable to express thetexture and feel, such as hardness, of the object which the user gripsby hand while playing the game.

The present invention was completed in view of the foregoing. Thus, itis an object of the present invention to provide an operating device anda method for controlling the operating device, the operating devicebeing capable of expressing to the user the texture and feel of theobject which the user grips by hand while playing the game.

Solution to Problem

In order to solve the related art subject described above, an operatingdevice includes a movable part capable of moving between a firstposition and a second position, with the movable part being capable ofoperation by a finger of a user gripping the operating device. Theoperating device includes a regulating part that regulates a range inwhich the movable part can move, and a control part that determines anamount of regulation in which the movable part can move and provides theregulating part with an instruction to regulate the range in which themovable part can move according to the amount of regulation which hasbeen determined.

Advantageous Effect of Invention

The controlling device according to the present invention permits theuser to feel the texture of the object which the user virtually gripswhile playing the game.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view seen from front of an operating devicepertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view seen from rear of the operating devicepertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram depicting an example of a circuit unit of theoperating device pertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram depicting an example of a movable part ofthe operating device pertaining to one embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram depicting how an arm moves relative to abutton cover in one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram depicting the functional units of theoperating device pertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flow chart depicting the working of the operating devicepertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a graph depicting the working of the operating devicepertaining to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a graph depicting how the operating device pertaining to oneembodiment of the present invention works in a first mode.

FIG. 10 is a graph depicting how the operating device pertaining to oneembodiment of the present invention works in a second mode.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings. The illustrated parts and theirsize, ratio, and arrangement are a mere example and are not intended torestrict the scope of the present invention.

An operating device 10 pertaining to one embodiment of the presentinvention is connected to a main unit 20 of the home game machine or thelike through a wired or wireless circuit. The operating device 10 sendsto the main unit 20 the content of operation indicated by the user. Theoperating device 10 also receives instructions entered from the mainunit 20 so that it controls various parts. The action of the operatingdevice 10 will be described later in more detail.

The operating device 10 according to one embodiment of the presentinvention is designed on the assumption that it will be held by theuser's left or right hand. An example of the operating device 10 isdepicted in FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of theoperating device 10, and FIG. 2 is a rear perspective view of theoperating device 10.

The operating device 10 includes a grip part 21 (to be gripped by theuser) and an operation part 22. The grip part 21 is substantially shapedlike a polygonal column. The operation part 22 is so formed as to extendfrom the grip part 21. In the case depicted in FIGS. 1 and 2, theoperation part 22 has a sensor part 221 and a button control part 222 onits front side. In addition, the operation part 22 has on its rear sideof the operating device 10 a finger sensor 223 and a rocking button 224(which is a movable part). The operating device 10 has a circuit part100 in its main body as depicted in FIG. 3. The circuit part 100includes a control part 11, a memory part 12, an interface part 13, acommunication part 14, and a power source part 15.

The control part 11 is a program-controlled device such asmicrocomputer, and it works according to the program stored in thememory part 12. The control part 11 works as mentioned later. The memorypart 12 is a memory device that holds the program to be executed by thecontrol part 11. The memory part 12 functions also as the work memoryfor the control part 11.

The interface part 13 is connected to various parts in the operationpart 22 so that it receives various signals (such as user's instructionsentered from the sensor part 221 and the button control part 222) andoutputs them to the control part 11. In addition, the interface part 13receives instructions entered from the control part 11 and outputs themto various parts in the operation part 22.

The communication part 14 includes the wireless communication interface(such as Bluetooth (registered trademark)) and the wired communicationinterface (such as universal serial bus (USB) and wired local areanetwork (LAN)). The communication part 14 is also connected to the mainunit 20 so that it sends and receives signals to and from the main unit20. The power source part 15, which includes a power source of secondarybatteries, supplies electric power to various parts in the operatingdevice 10. The secondary batteries of the power source part 15 may becharged when the operating device 10 is supplied with external electricpower. Since charging may be accomplished by any known method, nodetailed description of charging method is given herein.

According to the present embodiment, the operating device 10 has afastening device fixed to the right or left side thereof. The fasteningdevice may be a circular flexible belt. The user grips the operatingdevice 10, with his or her four fingers excluding thumb passed throughthe fastening device and his or her thumb joint pressed against the mainbody of the operating device 10. FIGS. 1 and 2 depict the operatingdevice 10 fixed by the user, with its right side pressed by the user'spalm.

The operating device 10 should have a size suitable for the user tosnugly grip it with his or her fingers passed through the fasteningdevice and should be large enough for the user's thumb tip to reach thebutton control part 222 on its front side when the user grips it. Thatis, in the case of the embodiment mentioned herein, the grip part 21 isdesigned such that the fingers of the user gripping it reach at leastsome of the buttons (including the rocking buttons 224) on the operationpart 22.

In other words, the grip part 21 is so designed as to permit the usernaturally holding the operating device 10 to make his or her forefingertouch the rocking button 224 and to make his or her palm, middle finger,third finger, and little finger grip the grip part 21. Holding in thismanner prevents the operating device 10 from dropping down when the useropens his or her hand because it is fixed to the user's hand.

The rocking button 224 corresponds to the movable part in the presentinvention. It is a button capable of moving between the first position(which projects toward the rear side of the operating device 10) and thesecond position (which is depressed into the main body of the operatingdevice 10). The rocking button 224 can be depressed to the secondposition by the user's forefinger, and can be restored to the firstposition as the user releases his or her finger from it (because it isenergized).

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the operatingdevice 10 causes the rocking button 224 to give the user's finger thesense of touch, thereby expressing the texture and feel of the objectwhich the user virtually holds. To be more concrete, the rocking button224 is provided with a motor on its rotating shaft, so that the motorgenerates torque corresponding to the reactive force against thepressing force with which the user depresses the rocking button 224,with the reactive force corresponding to the hardness of the virtualobject. Of course, in order to realize the foregoing, it is necessary toprovide drive elements, such as motor, which can produce torque linearlyover a broad range in correspondence to the depressing force applied tothe rocking button 224 by the user, and this requirement can hardly beachieved by a small-sized motor. This situation is coped with oneembodiment of the present invention in which the movable range of therocking button 224 is changed instead of directly imparting the reactiveforce. In this way it becomes possible to express the texture and feelof the virtual object which the user virtually holds.

To be concrete, the embodiment mentioned herein is characterized in thatthe rocking button 224 (depicted in FIG. 4) includes a button cover 224b, a button cover support 30, a force sensor 31 to detect the magnitudeof the force which the user applies for depression, and a regulatingpart 32 which permits the rocking button to move within a specifiedrange. The regulating part 32 includes the motor 321 as driving means,the control circuit 322 to control the driving means, and an arm 323 asa regulating member to be driven by the driving means. FIG. 4 is apartly cutaway view of the button cover 224 b, the main body (part) ofthe operating device 10, and the button cover support 30.

The force sensor 31 is located at that side of the rocking button 224with which the user's finger comes into contact. It detects, repeatedlyat specified intervals, the magnitude of the force applied to therocking button 224 by the user, and it also outputs the results ofdetection. To be concrete, this force sensor 31 may be any known onebased on a strain sensor. The interval (or timing) for detection may beapproximately 40 Hz to 1 kHz.

The button cover 224 b is one of the movable parts in the presentinvention, and it has the face to be depressed by the user's finger. Thebutton cover support 30 has a hinge fixed to the main body of theoperating device 10. This hinge supports the button cover 224 b so as topermit it to rotate around itself within a certain angular range betweenthe first position and the second position. The button cover support 30is energized by such an elastic body as spring to move the button cove224 b toward the first position. This mechanism permits the button cover224 b to move to the first position while the user's finger remains awayfrom the button. In the case of the present embodiment, the energizingis realized by an elastic body.

The button cover 224 b stays somewhere between the first position (whichprojects toward the rear side of the operating device 10) and the secondposition (which is depressed toward the main body of the operatingdevice 10), so that it can be depressed to the position at which itcomes into contact with the arm 323 (this position will be referred ascontact position). Thus, as the user grips the main body of theoperating device 10 and depresses the button cover 224 b with his or herforefinger, the button cover 224 b moves to the contact position withoutimparting any substantial resisting force (there is only resistive forcedue to the energizing force originating from the button cover support30). Thus, the button cover 224 b comes into contact with the arm 323 atthe contact position, thereby allowing the user to perceive as if he orshe has touched a hard object.

If the user continues gripping with an increased force beyond thecontact position, thereby enhancing the force to depress the buttoncover 224 b, the motor 321 rotates so as to draw back the arm 323 towardthe main body of the operating device 10. This action gives the user thesense of touch which makes the user feel that the object has beendeformed by the user's gripping force. The user may also feel thedifference in hardness if he or she changes the speed of rotation of themotor 321 according to the force with which the button cover 224 b isdepressed.

The motor 321 attached to the regulating part 32 is a servo motor orstepping motor, which is capable of controlling the rotation angle. Themotor 321 may be a geared motor with an integrated gear head. The motor321 works with the help of current supplied from the control circuit322.

The control circuit 322 for the motor 321 supplies to the motor 321 withthe current that varies in intensity according to the torque controlvalue τ entered from the control part 11. The motor 321 produces atorque in proportion to the intensity of current, thereby activating thearm 323 in such a way that its end (that comes into contact with thebutton cover 224 b) moves toward the button cover 224 b. This torque iscancelled out by the pressing force applied to the button cover 224 b(this pressing force is transmitted from the arm 323 as a rotating forcein the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the motor 321).As the result, the button cover 224 b moves toward the second positionat a rate equivalent to the difference by which the pressing forceexceeds the torque. If there is a balance between the pressing force andthe torque, the button cover 224 b becomes stable at the position forthe balance.

In addition, the control circuit 322 may receive from the control part11 an input in terms of rotation angle θ in place of the torque controlvalue τ. The angle θ represents the range over which the end (in contactwith the button cover 224 b) of the arm 323 moves. The range of movementis defined such that “0” denotes the angle of the position where thebutton cover 224 b is farthest from the initial position (at which noforce is exerted onto the button cover 224 b), and that “positivedirection” denotes the angle in which the button cover 224 b approachesits initial position. In this case, the control circuit 322 regulatesthe motor 321 to rotate through the rotation angle which has beenentered, so that the motor rotates through an angle (equivalent to theangle θ) enough for the end of the arm 323 to move toward the buttoncover 224 b. Incidentally, no detailed description is given here aboutthe method for rotating a motor through a predetermined angle andstopping it, because it is a matter of common knowledge.

The arm 323 corresponds to the regulating member in the presentinvention. It is attached to the rotating shaft of the motor 321, sothat it regulates the range of movement of the button cover 224 b inresponse to the rotation angle θ of the motor 321. To be concrete in thecase of the present embodiment, the arm 323 (depicted in FIG. 4) isarranged on the rear side of the button cover 224 b or on the main bodyof the operating device 10 (or on the locus along which the button cover224 b moves). The arm 323 includes an arm member 323 a and a disc-likearm proper 323 c. In the case depicted in FIG. 4, the disc-like armproper 323 c has its center fixed to the rotating shaft of the motor321. The arm member 323 a is constructed integrally with the arm proper323 c, which has a part projecting in the direction of circumferentialtangent line.

The arm 323 in the case depicted in FIG. 4 works in such a way that theend (contacting part) of the arm member 323 a moves within the range ofmovement of the button cover 224 b in response to the rotation angle ofthe motor 321. As the result, the button cover 224 b can move to thepart with which the arm member 323 a comes into contact. That is, in thecase of the present embodiment, the regulating member can be moved bythe control part 11, the control circuit 322, and the motor 321 whichwork in concert with one another.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram depicting the relationship between thearm 323 and the button cover 224 b, which are depicted in FIG. 4. Asdepicted in FIG. 5, the arm 323 does not regulate the range of movementof the button cover 224 b so long as the angle is obtuse (equal to orlarger than 90 degrees) between the lengthwise direction (projectingdirection) of the arm member 323 a and the moving direction of thebutton cover 224 b. Thus, the button cover 224 b in this situation canmove freely between the first position (indicated by X in FIG. 5(A)) andthe second position (indicated by Y in FIG. 5(A)). This movement is onlyresisted by the energizing force of the button cover support 30.

In another instance where the arm 323 is rotated through an angle θ bythe motor 321 so that the angle φ becomes acute (smaller than 90degrees) between the arm member 323 a (in the lengthwise direction orprojecting direction) and the direction of movement of the button cover224 b, the end of the arm member 323 a is positioned in the locus ofmovement of the button cover 224 b. As the angle φ approaches “0,” thecontact position (indicated by Y′ in FIG. 5(B)) for the arm member 323 aand the button cover 224 b approaches the first position (indicated by Xin FIG. 5(B)) of the button cover 224 b. This regulates the range overwhich the button cover 224 b can be depressed.

Incidentally, the embodiment does not have its regulating part 32restricted to the motor 321 and the arm 323 illustrated in FIG. 4. Theregulating part 32 may be replaced by any drive means capable ofdefining the range of movement of the button cover 224 b. Examples ofsuch means include a linear actuator and a solenoid, which linearly movein the direction of movement of the button cover 224 b and permits itsend to come into contact with the button cover, thereby regulating therange of movement of the button cover 224 b.

The control part 11 used in the embodiment of the present invention isdescribed below. As depicted in FIG. 6, the control part 11 includes anoperation transmission part 51, a pressing force information receivingpart 52, a setting receiving part 53, a regulation amount determiningpart 54, and an instruction part 55.

The operation transmission part 51 receives signals representing theoperation which the user has performed on the operation part 22 of theoperating device 10, and it transmits them to the main unit 20 throughthe communication part 14.

The pressing force information receiving part 52 receives through theinterface part 13 the information which the force sensor 31 has detectedand then transmits the information to the regulation amount determiningpart 54. This information includes the magnitude of the force which theuser's finger has applied to the rocking button 224.

The setting receiving part 53 receives the information from the mainunit 20 through the communication part 14. This information includes thehardness of the virtual object to be presented. This information may bereplaced by one which represents the hardness in terms of numericalvalues. The setting receiving part 53 transmits the received information(to be used for setting) to the regulation amount determining part 54.

The regulation amount determining part 54 processes the informationentered from the pressing force information receiving part 52 and thesetting information entered from the setting receiving part 53, therebydetermining the range over which the rocking button 224 (as the movablepart) can move, and subsequently it transmits the resulting informationto the instruction part 55. To be concrete, the regulation amountdetermining part 54 processes the setting information (that representsthe hardness to be presented) which has been entered from the settingreceiving part 53, thereby determining the ratio r=τ/F, where F denotesthe magnitude of the force applied to the rocking button 224 by theuser, and τ denotes the torque control value to be output to the motor321. In addition, the regulation amount determining part 54 obtains thetorque control value τ for output on the basis of the ratio r(determined as mentioned above) and the information (entered from thepressing force information receiving part 52) related to the magnitudeof the force F applied to the rocking button 224 by the user. Theregulation amount determining part 54 outputs the torque control value τ(as information related to regulating amount) to the instruction part55.

The instruction part 55 outputs the torque control value τ (as theinformation related to regulation entered from the regulation amountdetermining part 54) to the control circuit 322 of the motor 321. Thiscauses the motor 321 to rotate, which in turn causes the arm 323 torotate, thereby regulating the range over which the rocking button 224can move.

(In the case where the regulation amount determining part outputs therotation angle as the information related to regulating amount)

The regulation amount determining part 54 may also outputs the rotationangle θ in place of the torque control value τ as the informationrelated to regulating amount. In this case, the regulation amountdetermining part 54 determines the ratio r′=v/F from the informationentered from the setting receiving part 53, where F denotes themagnitude of the force applied to the rocking button 224 by the user,and v denotes the variable velocity per unit time (e.g., frequency tomeasure the force F) within the rotation angle θ of the motor 321. Inaddition, the regulation amount determining part 54 obtains the variablevelocity v per unit time from the information related to the magnitudeof force F applied to the rocking button 224 by the user (with theinformation being entered from the pressing force information receivingpart 52) and the ratio r′ which has been determined as mentioned above.Moreover, the regulation amount determining part 54 obtains the rotationangle θ to be output by adding the variable velocity v to the presentrotation angle θp of the motor 321.

In another case, the regulation amount determining part 54 determinesthe ratio r″=θ/F, where F denotes the magnitude of the force applied tothe rocking button 224 by the user and θ denotes the rotation angle ofthe motor, from the setting information entered from the settingreceiving part 53 instead of using the variable velocity v. Then, theregulation amount determining part 54 obtains the rotation angle θ to beoutput, on the basis of the information related to the magnitude of theforce F applied to the rocking button 224 by the user (with theinformation being entered from the pressing force information receivingpart 52) and the information related to the ratio r″ determined asmentioned above.

Finally, the regulation amount determining part 54 gives the instructionpart 55 the information (for regulation) related to the rotation angle θwhich has been obtained as mentioned above.

In this case, the instruction part 55 outputs the rotation angle θ (asthe information related to the amount of regulation which is enteredfrom the regulation amount determining part 54) to the control circuit322 of the motor 321. Thus, the control circuit 322 causes the motor 321to rotate through this rotation angle θ, so that the arm 323 rotates tovary the contact position within the movable range of the rocking button224.

Incidentally, the ratios r and r′ in the foregoing regulation may beestablished in such a way that the force f to push back the rockingbutton 224 by the rotating action of the motor 321 does not exceed theforce F applied by the user, when the motor 321 is controlled accordingto such ratios. Alternatively, they may be established in such a waythat the force to push back the rocking button 224 by the rotatingaction of the motor 321 is equal to or larger than the force F appliedby the user.

(Action)

The operating device 10 according to the embodiment of the presentinvention is basically constructed as mentioned above, and it functionsas follows. As depicted in FIG. 7, the operating device 10 receives thesetting information related to the hardness of the virtual object fromthe main unit 20 of the home game machine (S1). Next, the operatingdevice 10 determines the ratio (r=τ/F) based on this settinginformation, where F denotes the magnitude of the force applied to therocking button 224 by the user, and r denotes the torque control valueto be output to the motor 321 (S2).

Subsequently, the operating device 10 causes the force sensor 31 todetect the magnitude of the force applied to the rocking button 224 bythe user's finger, repeatedly at a frequency of 1 kHz, for instance(S3). At each time the force sensor 31 detects the magnitude of theforce F applied to the rocking button 224 by the user, the operatingdevice 10 calculates the torque control value T for output from the thusdetected magnitude of force F and the ratio r which has been determinedpreviously (S4).

The operating device 10 supplies to the motor 321 with currentcorresponding to the torque control value τ (S5). According to thepresent embodiment, the motor 321 is controlled by individual partswithin the operating device 10 (or without communication with the mainunit 20) at each time the force sensor 31 detects the magnitude of theforce applied to the rocking button 224. In other words, this step isrepeated until any interruption for other instructions is given from themain unit 20 at prescribed timing.

The foregoing control causes the motor 321 to rotate with a torquecorresponding to the supplied current, so that the end (contact part) ofthe arm 323 moves toward the button cover 224 b. The result is that thetorque and the user's pressing force onto the button cover 224 b canceleach other, so that the button cover 224 b moves toward the secondposition at a rate corresponding to the difference by which the pressingforce exceeds the torque. Incidentally, FIG. 8 is a graph in which thehorizontal axis represents time and the vertical axis represents thetorque control value τ. The first and third regions (T1 and T3)represent the state in which the user's pressing force is graduallyincreasing and the torque control value τ also increases in response toit. The second region (T2) represents the state in which the user isdepressing the button cover 224 b with an approximately constant forceand the torque control value τ remains constant.

(Example of Power Saving)

According to the foregoing description, the motor 321 is under controlin response to the torque control value τ (or the corresponding rotationangle θ) while the button cover 224 b is kept depressed by the user, asdepicted in FIG. 8. Consequently, the motor 321 is continuously suppliedwith electric current, which leads to a large power consumption.

The foregoing will be remedied by the embodiment mentioned below, inwhich the control part 11 checks the change with time of the torquecontrol value τ or the rotation angle θ as the information of regulatingamount and calibrates them if the change is within a prescribed rangeand instructs the regulating part 32 to regulate the button cover 224 b(as the movable part) to move within its moving range (first powersaving control).

To be concrete, the modified embodiment 1 is put into practice asfollows. The control part 11 causes the regulation amount determiningpart 54 to determine the moving range of the rocking button 224 (as themovable part) on the basis of the information entered from the pressingforce information receiving part 52 and the information entered from thesetting receiving part 53. At this time, the regulation amountdetermining part 54 accumulates and stores in the memory part 12 theamount of regulation which has been determined before a prescribedperiod of time (for example, two seconds).

Then, the regulation amount determining part 54 obtains the differencebetween the maximum and minimum values which have been determinedpreviously (for example, two seconds) and stored, and it decides whetheror not the difference is smaller than the predetermined threshold value.If the result is affirmative, the regulation amount determining part 54decides that the change with time of the regulating amount is within theprescribed range and calibrates the information related to thepreviously determined amount of regulation.

This calibration is accomplished in the following way, for example. Theregulation amount determining part 54 measures the time t which haselapsed from the point at which it decided that the change with time ofthe regulating amount is within a prescribed range (the elapsed time tmay be the value of the counter with an increment at regular timing).Thus, the regulation amount determining part 54 makes calibration toreduce the torque control value τ and the rotation angle θ in responseto the elapsed time. In an example depicted below, calibration isperformed on the torque control value τ to give the calibrated torquecontrol value τ′, as follows.

τ′=τ×exp[−αt]

where, α is a positive parameter constant which is previouslyestablished, and exp[ ] is an exponential function. The calibratedtorque control value τ′ is output to the instruction part 55 by theregulation amount determining part 54.

The same as above is also applied to the control that is based on therotation angle θ. In this case, the following equation is given.

θ′=θ×exp[−αt]

where, θ denotes the determined rotation angle and θ′ denotes thecalibrated rotation angle.The calibrated angle θ′ is output to the instruction part 55.

Incidentally, the regulation amount determining part 54 makes decisionas follows. If the stored difference between the maximum and minimumvalues of the regulating amount which has been determined before aprescribed period of time (for example, two seconds) is not lower thanthe prescribed threshold value, it is decided that the change with timeof the regulating amount is not within the prescribed range. In thiscase, the regulation amount determining part 54 outputs to theinstruction part 55 the torque control value τ and the rotation angle θ(which are the regulating amount which have been just determined)without alteration. Incidentally, in this case, the regulation amountdetermining part 54, which is measuring the time t which has elapsedfrom the point at which it decides that the change with time of theregulating amount is within the prescribed range, discontinues timingand resets the value of t to “0.”

According to the embodiment just mentioned above, the operating device10 increases the torque control value τ during the period T1 in whichthe user's depressing force is gradually increasing as depicted in FIG.9. The period T1 is followed by the period T2 in which the user keepsdepressing the button cover 224 b at an approximately constant force fora prescribed period of time (for example, two seconds). In this period,a constant torque control value τ is maintained, and subsequently (inperiod T3) the torque control value τ is adjusted for reduction. Theperiod T3 is followed by the period T4 in which the user graduallyincreases the depressing force and the operating device 10 increases thetorque control value τ accordingly. As compared with the result ofregulation depicted in FIG. 8, the regulation in the foregoing mannerdecreases the amount of torque (integrated over the period of time) aswell as the amount of power consumption.

Incidentally, according to the illustrated embodiment, the user isgiven, in the period T3, the sense of touch as if the rocking button 224is being depressed even though the user's depressing force remainsunchanged. If the sense of touch like this is not undesirable, thetorque control value τ may be reduced during the period T3 according tothe elapsed time. This weakens the sense of touch which makes the userto feel as if the rocking button 224 is being depressed.

The method for power saving is not restricted to the one mentionedabove. According to the second method for power saving, the control part11 instructs the regulating part 32 to regulate the movable range of therocking button 224 on the basis of the change with time of theregulating amount which is determined in place of the calibrated torquecontrol value τ or the calibrated rotation angle θ (which are theinformation related to the amount of regulation), while the torquecontrol value τ or the rotation angle θ are within a prescribed range.

In the case of regulation mentioned above, the control part 11 causesthe regulation amount determining part 54 to determine the amount ofregulation for the movable range of the rocking button 224 on the basisof the information entered from the pressing force information receivingpart 52 and the information entered from the setting receiving part 53.At this time, the regulation amount determining part 54 stores in thememory part 12 the amount of regulation which was determined before andthe amount of regulation which has been determined this time.

Then, the regulation amount determining part 54 obtains the difference(change in time) between the previously stored amount of regulation andthe newly determined amount of regulation and decides whether or not thedifference is larger than the previously established threshold value. Ifthe answer is affirmative, the regulation amount determining part 54outputs to the instruction part 55 the torque control value τ and therotation angle θ (which have been just obtained) without alteration.

In the case where the above-mentioned difference (change with time ofthe amount of regulation) does not exceed the predetermined thresholdvalue, the regulation amount determining part 54 performs regulationsuch that the torque control value τ or the rotation angle θ (as theamount to be regulated) is changed to the predetermined value β (forexample, “0”). This calibration is accomplished in the following way,for example. The regulation amount determining part 54 measures the timet which has elapsed from the point at which it decided that the changewith time of the regulating amount does not exceed the predeterminedthreshold value (the elapsed time t may be the value of the counter withan increment at regular timing). Thus, the regulation amount determiningpart 54 calibrates the torque control value τ and the rotation angle θin response to the elapsed time t. In an example depicted below,calibration is performed on the torque control value τ to give thecalibrated torque control value τ′, as follows.

τ′=τ×exp[−αt]+β

where, α is a positive parameter constant which is previouslyestablished. β is the set value after change, and it may be establishedas “0,” for example. Also, exp[ ] is an exponential function. Thecalibrated torque control value τ′ is output to the instruction part 55by the regulation amount determining part 54.

The foregoing is also applied to the case in which the rotation angle θis used to perform regulation. That is, the rotation angle θ which hasbeen determined is calibrated to give θ′=θ×exp[−αt]+β, and thecalibrated rotation angle θ′ is output to the instruction part 55.

The operation according to this example is illustrated in FIG. 10.During the period T1 in which the user increases his or her depressingforce gradually, the operating device 10 increases the torque controlvalue τ accordingly. During the subsequent period in which the usercontinues depressing the button cover 224 b with an approximatelyconstant force, the operating device 10 changes the torque control valueτ to “0” over a prescribed period of time (period T2). As long as theuser continues depressing the button cover 224 b with an approximatelyconstant pressure, the operating device 10 continues controlling themotor 321 with the torque value which has previously been fixed at “0,”for example (incidentally, if the torque control value τ is “0,” themotor 321 remains at rest). As the user begins to gradually increase thedepressing force again (in the period T3), the operating device 10increases the torque control value τ accordingly. The regulation in thismanner decreases the amount of torque (integrated over the period oftime), thereby reducing the consumption of electric power more than theregulation illustrated in FIGS. 8 and 9.

Incidentally, according to this example, the user is given the sense oftouch as if the rocking button 224 is depressed to the second positioneven though the depressing force remains unchanged during the period T2.The case in which such a sense of touch is unnecessary would be copedwith by reducing the torque control value τ in response to the elapsedtime. This weakens the sense of touch which the user feels as if therocking button 224 is depressed.

Moreover, the control part 11 may perform either the first action or thesecond action based on the results obtained under predeterminedconditions. The first action is intended to calibrate the predeterminedamount of regulation while it changes with time within a prescribedrange and to instruct the regulating part 32 to regulate so that themovable part moves over the amount of regulation which has beencalibrated (the first regulation for power reduction). The second actionis intended to instruct the regulating part 32 to regulate so that themovable part moves over the amount of regulation based on the changewith time of the previously determined amount of regulation (the secondregulation for power reduction).

The predetermined conditions mentioned above may be those which arebased on the instructions (for the user's setting) given from the mainunit 20. In addition, it may be possible to fix that the control part 11performs either the first action or the second action according to theconditions that depend on the ability (residual battery capacity) of thepower source part 15 to supply electric power. According to thisexample, for example, it is possible to set up such that neither thefirst action or the second action takes place (or the regulation isperformed within the determined amount of regulation) while there is asufficient residual battery capacity, or the first action takes placewhile the residual battery capacity is lower than the first thresholdvalue and higher than the second threshold value (which is smaller thanthe first threshold value), or the second action does not take placewhile the residual battery capacity is lower than the second thresholdvalue. The foregoing causes the regulation to be performed, with thepower consumption reduced in response to the residual battery capacity.

The reduction of power consumption may be accomplished in any other waythan mentioned above instead of determining the torque control value τor the rotation angle θ on the basis of the force F detected by theforce sensor 31. Any method is applicable so long as it is capable ofregulation based on the torque control value τ or the rotation angle θwhich is determined by some sort of method.

An example of such methods consists of regulating the torque of themotor 321 and regulating the stiffness of the button cover 224 b(rocking button 224) in response to the information related to thechange in angle of the arm 323 which results from the depressing forceof the user's finger, instead of using the force sensor 31.

An applicable method in this case may be the PD-control method which isin common use. It is so designed as to change the value of P-gain,thereby changing the sense of hardness. This method is suitable for thecontrol to reduce power consumption as follows.

According to the conventional method of operation, the user depressesthe button cover 224 b with his or her finger and continues this actionafter a short pause to depress the button cover 224 b further (in thesecond direction), as depicted in FIG. 8 which illustrates the changewith time. If the ordinary PD-control is performed in this case, thetorque value of the motor changes as depicted in FIG. 8, which suggeststhat the torque is output continuously over the period of T2. Thisindicates a comparatively large power consumption.

To remedy this situation, the value of output torque is calibrated bythe above-mentioned method as depicted in FIGS. 9 and 10. In this way itis possible to reduce power consumption. However, the conventionalPD-control has the disadvantage that the calibration of output torquereduces torque and hence the arm 323 is depressed further and the angleand output torque change, making it impossible to suppress the torqueand reduce the power consumption as desired. Therefore, the ordinaryPD-control is not applied to the change in angle of the arm 323 thatoccurs when the output torque is calibrated.

The foregoing procedure may be modified in such a way that thePD-control is not employed but the controller directly specifies thetorque value of the motor by the instruction of the application program(such as game application). In this case, it would be possible to makethe game application express hardness corresponding to the action of“gripping an object.” The operation in this case is performed in such away that the torque calibration illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10 iseffective but the change in angle of the arm and button cover thatresults from the torque calibration mentioned above does not affect theprocedure by the game application (the game application is controlledsuch that it does not perform the procedure corresponding to the resultof calibration).

Modified Embodiment

The foregoing embodiment has been explained on the assumption that thebutton cover 224 b and the arm 323 are not linked with each other.However, there is a possibility of constructing a system in which thebutton cover 224 b and the arm 323 are linked with each other.

In this case, too, the arm 323 is attached to the rotating shaft of themotor 321, so that the button cover 224 b has its movable rangecontrolled in response to the rotation angle θr of the motor 321. Themotor 321 runs with the electric current supplied from the controlcircuit 322 in response to the torque control value τ which is enteredfrom the control part 11.

In the case of the present embodiment, the button cover 224 b, withwhich the arm 323 is linked, moves to the first position when therotation angle θ of the motor 321 is θ0, and the button cover 224 bmoves to the second position when the rotation angle θ of the motor 321is θ1 (θ0≠θ1).

Also, in the case of this example, the control circuit 322 supplies tothe motor 321 with the electric current of magnitude corresponding tothe torque control value τ while it is being supplied with theregulation value τ. In addition, the control circuit 322 decides whetheror not the rotation angle θr of the motor 321 is equal to θ0 while thetorque control value τ is not being entered from the control part 11. Ifthe answer is negative, the control circuit 322 supplies to the motor321 with the electric current of predetermined magnitude so as to makethe motor 321 rotate through the rotation angle θ0. In the case wherethe button cover 224 b and the arm 323 are not linked with each other,the amount of the electric current to be supplied should beexperimentally established on the assumption that the amount of currentis large enough to move the button cover 224 b with a forcecorresponding to the energized force to move the button cover 224 b tothe first position. In this example, the energizing means is realized bythe action of the control circuit 322.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

10 Operating device, 11 Control part, 12 Memory part, 13 Interface part,14 Communication part, 15 Power source part, 20 Main unit, 21 Grip part,22 Operation part, 30 Button cover support, 31 Force sensor, 32Regulating part, 51 Operation transmission part, 52 Pressing forceinformation receiving part, 53 Setting receiving part, 54 Regulationamount determining part, 55 Instruction part, 100 Circuit part, 221Sensor part, 222 Button control part, 223 Finger sensor, 224 Rockingbutton, 224 b Button cover, 321 Motor, 322 Control circuit, 323 Arm, 323a Arm member, 323 c Arm proper.

1. An operating device comprising: a grip part to be gripped by a user;and an operation part arranged within a range which is approached by afinger of the user gripping the grip part, wherein the operation partincludes a movable part capable of moving between a first position and asecond position, energizing means for energizing the movable part towardthe first position, a regulating member that moves along a moving locusof the movable part and regulates the range in which the movable partcan move freely, and means to move the regulating member to a positionbetween the first position and the second position, and the means tomove the regulating member presents a force that moves the regulatingmember toward the first position in opposition to the force that movesthe regulating member toward the second position when the movable partis depressed toward the second position beyond the range in which themovable part can move freely.
 2. An operating device which includes amovable part capable of moving between a first position and a secondposition, with the movable part being capable of operation by a fingerof a user gripping the operating device, the operating devicecomprising: a regulating part that regulates a range in which themovable part can move; and a control part that determines an amount ofregulation in which the movable part can move and provides theregulating part with an instruction to regulate the range in which themovable part can move according to the amount of regulation which hasbeen determined.
 3. The operating device as defined in claim 2, furthercomprising: a force sensor that detects a magnitude of a force appliedto the movable part, wherein the regulating part determines, based onthe magnitude of force detected by the force sensor, the amount ofregulation for the range in which the movable part can move and providesthe regulating part, based on the amount of regulation which has beendetermined, with an instruction to regulate the range in which themovable part can move.
 4. The operating device as defined in claim 2,wherein the control part calibrates the amount of regulation when theamount of regulation which has been determined changes with time in aprescribed range and provides the regulating part with an instruction toregulate the range in which the movable part can move as much as theamount of regulation which has been calibrated.
 5. The operating deviceas defined in claim 2, wherein the control part provides, based on thechange with time of the amount of regulation which has been determined,the regulating part with an instruction to regulate the range in whichthe movable part can move.
 6. The operating device as defined in claim2, wherein the control part determines, based on a predeterminedcondition, to perform which one of a first action to provide theregulating part with an instruction to calibrate the amount ofregulation when the change with time of the amount of regulation whichhas been determined is within a prescribed range and to regulate therange in which the movable part can move as much as the amount which hasbeen calibrated, and a second action to provide, based on the changewith time of the amount of regulation which has been determined, theregulating part with an instruction to regulate the range in which themovable part can move, and the control part performs either the firstaction or the second action based on the result obtained from what hasbeen determined.
 7. A method for controlling an operating device whichincludes a movable part capable of moving between a first position and asecond position, and a regulating part that regulates a range in whichthe movable part can move, the movable part being operated by a fingerof a user gripping the operating device, the method comprising:detecting a magnitude of a force applied to the movable part; anddetermining the amount of regulating the range in which the movable partcan move, based on the amount of regulation which has been detected, andproviding the regulating part with an instruction to regulate the rangein which the movable part can move, based on the amount of regulationwhich has been determined.